MOST women prefer taller men, but how many actually end up with a lofty lover and how many settle for their own Tom Cruise?

Preferences in mate height have been well documented in both men and women, but, for the first time, scientists have studied how those desires play out in real life.

Despite the many factors involved in mate choice, the researchers found most couples get what they want when it comes to a spouse with the right height. Women marry taller beaus; men partner shorter females.

The average heights of men and women in typical Western populations suggest two out of every 100 couples should comprise a woman taller than her male companion.

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But the study found only one union in 100 featured a woman who towered over her partner - in the manner of former spouses Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise.

As part of the study, British and Dutch psychologists analysed the height difference between more than 10,000 heterosexual British parents and found 92.5 per cent of males were taller than their partners. Couples averaged a height difference of 20 centimetres or less between them.

Women were taller than their mates in 511 couples, while 425 pairs were the same height.

The study's lead author, Simon Verhulst, said while a large proportion of women partnered taller men, this pattern was not as frequent as expected based on people's preferences collected in previous research.

''While preferences for partner height generally translate into actual pairing, they do so only modestly,'' said Professor Verhulst, from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.